Finger painting apron



Sept. 3, 1957 J. R. SCHATTEL FINGER PAINTING APRON 7 Filed July 13, 1956 INVENTOR. JUANITA 2.5CHATTEL gr m QNEY$ United States Patent FINGER PAINTING APRON Juanita R. Schattel, Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii Application July 13, 1956, Serial No. 597,818

1 Claim. (Cl. 249) The present invention relates generally to wearing apparel. In particular, the invention is an apron intended to be worn by children, to protect their clothes, when engaged in finger painting or other efforts that might tend to soil the garments. The invention is further adapted to have general utility as a school or play apron.

It is of importance that childrens clothes be protected, when they are engaged in finger painting or similar activities. In this connection, particularly when a large class of small children is being supervised, the teacher must expend, usually, considerable time in assisting the children in putting on or taking off their aprons.

The present invention, accordingly, has as its main purpose the provision of an apron of the type described that will be especially adapted to permit its being put on or taken ofl by children without assistance.

Summarized briefly, the apron designed to achieve the above stated main object of the invention is of plastic, in a preferred embodiment, and includes a front panel having arrn receiving openings at its opposite sides merging at said opposite sides into overlapping panels. A neck opening is formed at the upper end of the front panel, and the neck opening and armholes are bound with single fold bias tape, in the preferred embodiment. A pocket is provided on the front panel, and extending within the bias tape of the neck opening is an annular stiffener member of plastic, having an inherent springability such as to cause the ends of said member to overlap, normally, at the back of the neck, so as to drape the garment material throughout its vertical dimension on the back of an individual from the neck opening to the hemline adjacent the bottom of the rear of the garment, alfording a large or wide overlap which gives complete coverage and protection to a wearers clothing accordingly eliminating entirely or substantially reducing soil to the same, the apron being held in proper position without requirement of ties or buttons, the construction nevertheless being adapted to permit the apron to be put on or taken off without assistance.

A more specific object is to provide an apron as stated that will be so designed as to remain in proper position once put on, despite the absence of the ties, grip fasteners, etc., utilizing an intricately designed overlap in the material comprising the apron, said overlap being afforded by the use of an annular resilient stiffener member having overlapped end portions.

Other objects will appear from the following description, the claim appended thereto, and from the annexed drawing, in which like reference characters designate like parts throughout the several views, and wherein:

Figure l is a front elevational view of a finger painting apron according to the invention;

Figure 2 is a rear elevational view thereof;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary front perspective view of the apron in closed position, as it appears when worn, showing the manner in which the neck portion of the apron forms an overlap at the rear or back portion of the wearer of the garment;

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3 in which the apron has been partially opened, at it would appear when being put on or taken off;

Figure 5 is an enlarged, detail section on line 5-5 of Figure 3; and

Figure 6 is a plan view of the apron material, as it appears after being cut to the proper pattern during manufacture.

Referring to the drawings in detail, the pattern used in forming the apron is shown in Figure 6, and comprises an approximately rectangular area, cut from a single piece of material having a centrally disposed front panel 10 merging into back panels 12, 14, without any seams, the lower corners of which are preferably rounded.

The back panels 12, 14 normally overlap when the apron is worn, as shown in Figures 2 and 3, due to the provision of an annular stiffener or spring member 16 formed with overlapping ends, preferably of plastic of a circular cross section. The stiffener member extends about a neck opening provided in the upper end of the front panel, and is enclosed within a single fold bias tape 18. The tape 18 is stitched as at 20 to the edge of the neck opening of front panel 10.

The stiffener member 16 has normally overlapping ends, and serves to move the edges of the back panels into overlapping relation, serving to maintain the apron in proper position upon the child. At the same time, the stiffener member can be spread as necessary, as shown in Figure 4, to open the apron at the back, for the purpose of permitting it to be put on or taken off.

Armholes are provided at the sides of the front panel 10 and are bound with a single fold bias tape 22. At one side of the front panel, intermediate the upper and lower ends thereof, a large pocket 24 is located, but it will be understood that the location, size, and number of pockets can be varied, as desired.

As previously noted, the apron is made of plastic and is finished along its edges as at 26, 28.

Referring to the pattern shown in Figure 6 in greater detail, medially between the opposite sides thereof the top edge of the pattern is formed with a neck opening defining notch 30 and at opposite sides thereof are deeper notches 32 defining the armholes. Relatively short, inclined straight edges 34 are provided at the sides of the several notches, merging into shallow corner recesses 36.

It will be seen that an apron formed according to the present invention does not include ties, buttons or other fasteners that would tend to cause the child to require assistance in putting on or taking off the apron. Closures are thus completely eliminated, providing a highly important advantage, particularly in view of the fact that the apron is to be used by children, especially in situations in which a large group of children may be using the aprons simultaneously.

It is believed apparent that the invention is not necessarily confined to the specific use or uses thereof described above, since it may be utilized for any purpose to which it may be suited. Nor is the invention to be necessarily limited to the specific construction illustrated and described, since such construction is only intended to be illustrative of the principles of operation and the means presently devised to carry out said principles, it being considered that the invention comprehends any minor change in construction that may be permitted Within the scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

A childrens apron comprising a front panel having a neck opening; back panels integral with the front panel at opposite sides thereof; and means extending about the neck opening normally holding the same closed with adjacent edges of the back panels overlapped, said means being spreadable to open the neck opening, said front panel having armholes at the opposite sides of the neck opening, said means comprising an annular ring of springable characteristics having normally overlapping, spreadable ends, the front panel including a binding extending about the neck opening and enclosingsaid ring, said overlapping ends of the ring being disposed at the back of the neck opening medially between opposite sides of the neck opening, the overlapped back panels draping the garment material throughout its vertical dimension from the neck opening to the hemline at the lower rear portion of the garment sufliciently to afford a wide overlap giving rise to complete coverage and protection substantially reducing and eliminating soil to a wearers clothing, the area of overlap of the back panels being substantially constant 4 fully from the neck opening to a location adjacent the lower end of the apron and being of a width equal to the length of the overlapped ends, the overlapping portions of the back panels being free of connections to each other for the full length of the apron.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,391,121 Keppel Sept. 20, 1921 1,956,813 Stephenson May 1, 1934 2,421,195 Goldsmith May 27, 1947 2,556,931 Miller June 12, 1951 2,651,039 Tonkens et al Sept. 8, 1953 

